A member of the Octopus EV team. Image: Octopus Energy
Octopus Energy is set to enable households with an electric vehicle (EV) and solar panels to earn an additional £150 by combining the 'Intelligent Octopus' and ‘Outgoing Octopus’ tariffs.
The company said that customers who had combined ‘Intelligent Octopus’ for importing power with Octopus’ ‘Smart Export Guarantee’ (SEG) tariff for exporting power would now automatically get upgraded to ‘Outgoing Octopus’.
The new tariff is the “highest paying fixed export tariff on the market that is open to all exporting households”, according to Octopus. Standard export tariffs are 5p per kWh.
In September 2022, Octopus announced that customers on its ‘Fixed Outgoing’ tariff would see an increase in payments from 7.5p/kWh to 15p/kWh. However, Intelligent Octopus tariff customers were previously unable to get this export rate. Octopus confirmed on X/Twitter that “Intelligent customers can now be on either Fixed or Agile Outgoing.”
However, the increased export rate is not being extended to Octopus Go tariff customers. Octopus said that “The combination is possible for Intelligent Octopus users because the smart charging they've enabled means we can unlock extra savings (and help balance the energy grid even more) by using their car charging demand flexibly. This isn't the case for Octopus Go and is part of why we can't extend it to Go users.”
The company said that an average household with an EV and solar panels will be able to earn an additional £150 a year. Customers who have combined their Intelligent Octopus tariff with Octopus’ Smart Export Guarantee for exporting power will automatically get upgraded to ‘Outgoing Octopus’.
Octopus recently announced that it would no longer require an MCS accredited installer to verify installations that qualify for their Smart Export Guarantee.
Around 4,000 Octopus customers will benefit from the higher payments, with an increased fixed rate of 15p per kWh of electricity they export, rather than 4.1p per kWh on the SEG. The switch will happen automatically this week, with all affected customers being notified by email, Octopus said.
The company said it had seen a “significant jump” in solar export customers, which had doubled in the past year.
Alex Schoch, head of flexibility at Octopus Energy, said: “You’ll be hard pressed to drive down a residential road in the UK without seeing solar panels or an electric vehicle, and we’re keen to pass on the savings of adopting this clean, green tech for customers. We’re thrilled to be able to help cut conscientious customers' bills by more than £150, while encouraging others to become their own renewable energy generator at the same time. The more products like these that help to balance the grid, the more we can bring down bills for everyone.”
Last week it was revealed that Octopus Energy had signed a deal with Impello Limited (Shell) to buy Shell Energy UK and Germany, subject to regulatory approval.
The company is expanding rapidly in the UK and overseas, having been the fourth biggest UK energy supplier in September 2022, but now having climbed to second biggest.